While there is no cure for herpes, the severity of the virus varies over the lifespan of an infected person. In fact, some people with the condition don't have any symptoms for long periods of time. However, they may continue to transmit the virus, even when there are no symptoms. It will still be a long time before these experiments lead to the first human trials of gene therapy to cure herpes.
Jerome estimates that there are at least three years to go. HSV causes herpes and can affect the mouth or genitals. There is currently no cure for the virus, but there are treatments that can reduce the symptoms and infectiousness of the disease. There is no cure for genital herpes.
However, there are medications that can prevent or shorten outbreaks. A daily anti-herpetic medication may reduce your chances of transmitting the infection to your sexual partner (s). I've had herpes for as long as I can remember, and it's likely that I contracted the virus when I was a small child clutching my mother's face. Over the decades, I've spent a considerable amount of time thinking about how to skip work, school, and social events.
When I was hiding from the world, I tried all the home remedies, topical creams and ointments, and antiviral medications available. Unfortunately, there is no cure for herpes, only options to limit or prevent outbreaks. However, a new vaccine on the horizon could change the rules of the game. If a person contracts any form of herpes virus infection, they will have it for life, whether they have symptoms or not.
Many people living with herpes don't know they have it, which means these numbers can be much higher. Researchers have conducted several clinical trials to investigate vaccines against herpes infection, but there is currently no vaccine available on the market. However, if they experience any symptoms related to herpes, they should ask all their recent sexual partners if they have or may have oral or genital herpes. From the early days of the experiments, Jerome's team learned to use a cutting enzyme called “meganuclease” that can concentrate on a segment of herpes DNA and cut both chains of the double helix.
Most people with herpes don't show symptoms, but the infection can also cause painful sores and blisters. The team achieved its first promising results years ago with a single type of meganuclease that proved effective in cutting the DNA of the herpes virus, but the results were short-lived. Every time my immune system is exhausted, I am at greater risk of suffering an outbreak of herpes, and that is exactly what happened. A person can transmit herpes to their partner at any time, although it is more likely when they have an outbreak.
Medications have come a long way in helping to suppress herpes, and it is possible that it can be cured in the future. Pregnant women with symptoms of genital herpes should see a doctor, as there is a risk of neonatal herpes. Keith Jerome began to explore the idea that lifelong herpes virus infections could be cured by using gene therapy tools to cut DNA. As the Jerome Laboratory prepares to see if its gene therapy can block genital herpes, it is also reorganizing its selection of vector viruses and meganucleases to attack nerve cells infected with HSV-2.Some home remedies, such as petroleum gel or essential oils, can ease the discomfort caused by herpes lesions, but they don't help reduce viral load.
Even more dramatic, the story argued that herpes was “altering sexual rites in the United States, changing courtship patterns, causing thousands of patients to fall into months of depression and self-exile, and dealing a numbing blow to the one-night stand”. .
